


The Forgotten One

by justanoutlaw



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Dialogue, Episode: s07e22 Leaving Storybrooke, Flashbacks, Gen, Hood-Mills Family, Mills Family, Minor Alice | Tilly/Robin | Margot, Past Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Canon, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 08:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: When Roland crashes Regina's coronation, it leads to a huge rift in the Mills Family. Robin is determined to get her newly found brother to her wedding, while Regina wants to make up for her mistakes.





	1. The Coronation

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE! I know it's long, but it'll help you decide if this is a fic for you or not.
> 
> This whole thing was prompted by queen-of-the-merry-men, who also helped me with some of the dialogue. It's going to be multiple chapters, but not sure how long quite yet.
> 
> I want to preface this with some warnings. This is post-series finale. Literally takes place after Regina's final line. This will discuss Robin's rape, but not in detail. I love Regina, she is my favorite character and if you know me, you know this. Zelena began to grow on me in S7. That being said...there will be times in this fic (starting off in this chapter), that their past actions are called into question and are called out on not being the best. This is especially true for Zelena. This isn't a bashing fic of her, but it says basic truths about what she's done. Same with Regina. If that's a problem, then I wouldn't recommend this fic to you because I don't want to see hate comments about Roland or Robin doing that.
> 
> This verse is also going to be pretty much family relationships only, mainly Regina/Roland, Roland/Robin, Regina/Robin, Regina/Zelena and Robin/Zelena. The only romantic ships will be background, canon ones such as Robin/Alice and Henry/Ella. If romance is more your speed, I have other fics for that. Of course, past Outlaw Queen will be mentioned and Dark Outlaw Queen is discussed a bit as well. Robin Sr. will be discussed in a positive light, so, if that bothers you, this isn't your fic. Overall, this is a story of the Hood-Mills family healing.
> 
> That being said, if you're still with me, sit back, relax and enjoy...

“In the end, we can get past it all with hope.”

Regina smiled as the crowd cheered, looking around at all of them. Snow and David still stood proudly behind her, her sons, Emma, Ella, Lucy, Hope and Hook on one side of the front row with Zelena, Alice, Robin and Nook on the other. She had once told Henry that one day he’d have more family than he knew what to do with, but it turned out that applied to her too. She never imagined she’d be crowned the Good Queen, let alone be overwhelmingly voted as one.

The cheers and applause died down, but it was followed by a slow, near sarcastic clap. She tilted her head and tried to figure out where it was coming from. A man that looked to be in his mid to late 20s appeared from the crowd. He had longer brown hair and some thick facial hair. It took her a minute to realize who it was, until she saw the dimples. He wasn’t smiling, but they were still evident.

“Roland,” she whispered.

“I’m surprised you recognize me, _Regina_ ,” he said. His voice had dropped over the past couple of decades, which surprised her more than it should’ve. “I see that you’re now the queen of the people. You saved the day once again.”

“I didn’t know you were coming. You look so grown up.” She stepped down from the platform once more and held her dress as she walked closer to him. Regina was close to hugging him, when she realized that he reeked of whiskey. “You’re drunk.”

“Astute observation.”

Roland pushed past her and looked over at the right side of the room. Robin stood there, looking shocked. Regina realized that the two siblings hadn’t seen each other since the day Zelena and David helped the Merry Men back to Sherwood Forest.

“My baby sister,” he slurred. “You’ve gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you.”

“You’re Roland,” Robin said, softly. Alice squeezed her hand, smiling a bit at the unconventional reunion.

“I’m surprised you know who I am. I thought everyone had forgotten about me.”

“This is hardly the place,” Zelena cut in, giving him a harsh look. “This is Regina’s big day.”

“Oh, so now you care about Regina?” Roland asked. “Because it sure didn’t seem that way when I was a kid. You disguised yourself as my mom, to hurt her and my father. Heck, if you hadn’t done that then your daughter wouldn’t even exist.”

Zelena’s eyes widened and Robin gasped, looking over at her mom. Regina suddenly felt as though the castle walls were crowding in around her. She and Zelena had made a decision a long time ago. They would never tell Robin how she was conceived. It wasn’t to protect Zelena, but more so, so Robin could never be hurt by it. To make things less awkward, Robin never knew that her aunt and father had ever been in love. Over 20 years of secrets were suddenly spilling out within minutes, from a clearly very hurt man.

“Is this true?” Robin asked her mother.

“Sweetheart…”

“I asked you if it was true!”

“Everyone, maybe we should stop this,” Snow stepped in, ever the diplomat. “We can start the reception and you all can step outside…”

“Snow White, always trying to take control of things,” Roland interrupted. “You couldn’t even take control of the town. I remember when you were mayor while Regina pouted over my father. You could barely hold it together.”

“Leave her alone,” Henry said, moving from beside his wife to stand by his mom. “You’re hurt and upset, but you have no right to do this. You’re clearly hurt over Mom and Zelena, but they don’t deserve this.”

“Don’t you get it, Henry?” He looked between the two sisters. “This is _exactly_ what they deserve.” He turned to face the crowd. “Yes, you have your Good Queen. She protected everyone, except the one person she promised to.” Roland let out a bitter laugh. “I suppose she never really changed.”

Roland’s eyes locked on Regina’s which were filled with tears once more. This time, however, they weren’t ones of joy. She reached out to cup his cheek, but he pulled away from her.

“Your family ruined my life,” he said. “I just thought it was time you knew it.”

He pushed past Regina, purposefully bumping her shoulder as he did. The heavy oak doors slammed shut behind him. The silence didn’t last long and soon, everyone was talking at once. Ry was asking Emma about what all of that was about. Snow and David were trying to talk to Regina, but she wasn’t saying a word, she was just staring at the doors. Henry told both of them to give her some space, that she didn’t need coddling right at that moment and Ella was trying to round up Lucy and the other kids to lead them out. Some murmured about how grown Roland had gotten, while others admitted they had long forgotten all about him.

The biggest blowout was happening between Zelena and Robin. The younger Mills woman kept throwing her arms up in the air, as she demanded answers from her mother. Zelena looked like she was on the verge of tears herself. Alice had a hand on her fiancé’s back, while Killian had taken several steps away from Zelena, clearly remembering his own trauma surrounding his rape.

“Is what he said true?” Robin demanded. “Just answer the damn question, Mother!”

“I…I was a different person back then,” Zelena stammered.

“That’s not what I asked. Is it true? Did you rape my father?”

“I wouldn’t call it rape…”

“Let’s look at it this way. When he slept with you, did he think you were Marian?”

Zelena bit down on her lip. “Yes.”

“Then that’s rape! I can’t believe this!”

“I never wanted you to know…”

“I can imagine why. You didn’t want to admit to what you had done!”

“That’s not it.”

“Yes it is. God.” Robin turned to her aunt, who hadn’t said a word during this entire thing. “I’m sorry Aunt Regina, but I have to go.”

She stormed out the exit, Alice chasing out after her. Killian spared Zelena one last look of disgust before following out after his daughter. Zelena turned to Regina, now sobbing. She put a hand on her arm and finally, Regina broke out of her trance.

“Regina,” she choked out. “What am I going to do? Robin is never going to forgive me!”

“That’s not the issue right now,” Regina said, looking up at her. “What the hell happened to Roland?”


	2. The One He Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina goes to visit the Queen to find out what happened to Roland.

Regina watched as the guards opened the door to the castle. She hadn’t been inside her former home in quite some time. While she was now the sole ruler of all the realms, there were still separate monarchs for each separate one and they reported to her. The Queen had been ruling over the Enchanted Forest ever since she returned from the Wish Realm decades prior along with that land’s version of Robin. The realm had thrived more than it ever had before, with poverty being at an all-time low and employment at an high. She couldn’t even consider either of them the evil half anymore. They both cared for the people that lived within the lands.

It lead her to wonder how the hell the Queen had let any of this happen. It had been a day since her coronation and Roland had been nowhere to be found. She knew that the Queen and Robin had some contact with him over the years, but they had never told her just how bad things had gotten. At one point, the Queen had even discussed taking him in. Regina had assumed that had happened. Clearly, she was wrong.

“Hello, Regina.” She turned to find her other half standing there. While Regina was wearing one of her famous pantsuits, the Queen wore a floor length black gown. Her hair longer than Regina’s and pulled up in a tight bun. “Long time no see.”

“As you know, I’ve been helping our son these past 10 years.”

“I’ve spoken with Henry, Ry as well.”

“You cut off contact with me, though.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“So busy you haven’t had time to tell me what happened to Roland?”

The Queen rolled her eyes. “You blame me for that? What about you? You could’ve taken him in.”

“Even after I helped you, the town was still in danger. Rumpelstiltskin’s son was running around without his heart, being controlled by the Black Fairy. It was bad enough that Henry, Baby Robin and Neal had to be there. I wasn’t going to bring another child into the mess.”

“And after it all ended?” The Queen stepped forward, the sequins on her dress making noise as she did. “What happened then, hm?” She patronizingly tapped her chin in faux thought. “Oh, that’s right. You helped Zelena raise her daughter.”

“Well, she needed it. She was struggling with everything and…”

“And you forgot all about the boy we silently vowed we always cared for.”

“I never forgot about him!” Regina argued. “I just…I assumed he’d be okay! The Merry Men took him.”

“Yes, but those last few months, he hadn’t been with the Merry Men. After the curse Snow cast, outside his brief time with Zelena and Robin, all he knew were you and his father. He needed you. His father had just died and you didn’t go after him.”

“Little John never would’ve allowed it. He took him from me, without letting me say goodbye.”

“He wanted you to fight for him. He knew deep down what Robin would’ve wanted, why he sacrificed himself. He assumed that you’d care for both of his children. While you held up your end of the deal with the baby, John was always disappointed that you didn’t with Roland.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve actually spoken to him. When’s the last time you talked to any member of the Merry Men?” An uncomfortable silence fell over the two. The Queen clicked her tongue. “That’s what I thought.”

Regina felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She had done the right thing, at least that’s what she had told herself. She let him be raised the way that Robin would’ve wanted, in the forest. Deep down though, she knew that he would’ve preferred Roland be with her. It was partially why she insisted that Zelena and Robin II always lived with her. She trusted her sister and she turned out to be a good mother, but no matter what, she owed it to Robin to make sure that his daughter was always well taken care of. She thought she had done that by leaving him with the Merry Men, though she could now see that wasn’t enough.

“What about you?” Regina countered, not ready to take full blame just yet. “You clearly have seen him, you’ve spoken to Little John. Why didn’t you and Robin take him?”

The Queen frowned, clearly hurt by the accusation. “You don’t think we tried? Regina, as soon as we figured out our lives, we went to Sherwood Forest. Robin isn’t a huge fan of kids, but he wanted to do right by Roland. He grew up without a father and didn’t want that for him.”

“So…what happened?”

She watched as her other half stared into space, clearly getting lost in the story as she retold it.

_The Queen and Robin walked to the cottage where Roland now lived with Little John. They agreed that he would wait outside, so as not to confuse him right off. The Queen nearly cried at the sight of him. Roland had grown so much in the year and half that they had been apart, there was such pain in his eyes. This little boy had once been happy, never without a smile. Now, he looked as if he had seen more than his fair share._

_“Roland,” she said softly._

_He looked up at her and while a smile shot across his face, it soon faded. “You’re…you’re not my Regina.”_

_The Queen wasn’t sure how he could spot the difference, but perhaps it was the same way that Henry could. She sat in a chair beside him. “I was always inside of the Regina you knew. I know that you love ice cream and I gave you a stuffed monkey shortly after we first met. Your favorite book is Goodnight Moon.”_

_Roland’s brows furrowed. “But you’re different.”_

_“Sort of. You see, Regina split me from her when she was very sad after your papa died. It took me a long time to get rid of the sadness in my own heart, so I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”_

_“Where is the other part of you? Where’s **my** Regina?”_

_The words felt like an arrow to her heart. “She’s back in Storybrooke, with Henry and your little sister.”_

_“Zelena said she’d bring me Peanut but she never did.”_

_The Queen internally cursed her sister. How dare she make a promise that she had no intention of keeping?_

_“I’m sorry to hear that and as I said, I’m sorry it took me so long. I don’t know why Regina and Zelena haven’t come, but I do know that Regina loves you so much. We have the same heart and we both feel so strongly for you.”_

_Roland looked skeptical, but nodded. “Why are you here?”_

_“Well, I’m a lot better now. Remember the castle you lived in after we first met?” Roland nodded once more. “I live there now full time. I’m married to a man that looks a lot like your papa, but he’s not the same. There’s a land where all our stories worked out differently and he’s from there.”_

_“Oh.” He didn’t look like he fully understood. “Okay.”_

_“Even though he’s not your father, he cares about you. His name is Robin as well and we both would love it if you came to stay with us. We’ve already talked with Little John and he said it’s up to you.”_

_Roland got up from the table and went to the window. The Queen followed and watched as he looked out at Robin. His frown intensified._

_“He looks so much like Papa, but…different too. Like he’s a lot sadder.”_

_“He’s gone through a lot in his life. In his version of events, he never had a little boy like you.” The Queen now knew that it was Roland that had probably saved the other Robin’s life and stopped him from a downward spiral after Marian’s death. “He’s never been a father, but he will be one now. If you’d like.”_

_Roland stared at his father’s doppelganger for a moment, before turning to take in the Queen. She smiled softly down at him, ready for him to run into her arms and come home._

_“No,” he whispered._

_“No?”_

_“He’s not my papa and you’re…you’re not my Regina. The two of you look like them, but you’re not the same. If I can’t have them…”_

_“Then you don’t want us,” she said, softly._

_“I’m sorry.”_

_“Don’t be sorry.” The Queen knelt before him. “I want you to be happy, Roland. That’s it. If that means you staying here with the Merry Men, then that’s what it’ll be. Just know that Robin and I will always have our home open to you. I’m going to visit and you can always change your mind.”_

Back in the present, both Reginas had tears pouring down their faces.

“I visited for a few years,” the Queen continued. “He didn’t come to the castle until he was 12 and he finally met Robin. It was very hard on him. They didn’t even speak. After that, he didn’t come back and I got word from Little John a little after Roland’s 13th birthday that he didn’t want to see me anymore. I’d go to the forest, but Roland wouldn’t come see me. Eventually, I heard that he ran off from the group when he turned 18.”

Regina didn’t know what to say. She had no clue about any of this and felt so stupid. How could she have not realized that he needed her? She had been there for Robin, but never for him. That wasn’t fair.

“So, to answer your question Regina, I _did_ try. I just…” The Queen trailed off with a sigh. “I wasn’t the one that he wanted.”

“This is why you stopped reaching out,” Regina whispered.

“You broke our boy’s heart. I found a way to forgive you, but I don’t think he ever did.”

“He showed up to my coronation, drunk. He told me off and revealed to Robin Jr. how she was conceived.”

The Queen flinched. “She never knew?”

“Zelena and I never wanted her to. We know more than anything what it’s like to feel unloved, unwanted. We never wanted her to think that’s how her father felt about her.”

“I agree, it’s just…wow.” The Queen shook her head. “I would never have condoned that part of it.” She paused. “If she didn’t know the story, what did you tell her?”

Regina sighed. “That her father was a great hero, we told her everything about him and that he died protecting myself and her. Zelena told her that they never had a relationship and that it was a one-time thing.”

“She never found it odd that her mother slept with her aunt’s boyfriend?”

“Zelena…we decided that it’d be best if she never knew about Robin and I. It’d be too complicated to explain.”

“So for the past couple of decades, you had to hide your love for him.”

Regina ducked her head. She had spent the first few years of Robin’s life telling her everything about her father. Most of her bedtime stories were tales of him. When she was about 6-years-old, she asked why Regina knew so much about him when her own mother didn’t. Regina had never broken down in tears on the spot and simply responded that Robin Sr. had been her best friend. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either. After that, she told Zelena everything, so she could be the one to tell the stories.

“Well, now it’s all out anyway,” Regina said, wiping away her tears. “The entire family has been turned on its head. Again. Look, I need to find him. Talk to him, make it right.”

“I don’t think he’ll want that.”

“Then I can wait, but I am going to try. Even if he doesn’t want to talk to me, I know that Robin does. We messed up not letting him see her when they were growing up. She always asked about him. She’s getting married now and even before all this, talked about inviting him. If she can’t have Robin walk her down the aisle, she wants it to be her big brother. Do you at least know where she can reach him?”

The Queen was quiet for a moment, opening and closing her mouth a few times. Off Regina’s pleading look, she finally caved. “He wrote me about a year ago. I guess he got word that I was looking for him and he said he was sorry for worrying me, for shutting me out when I was the one that tried. He still didn’t want to see me, but assured me that he was safe in Arendelle.”

“Well,” Regina let out a deep breath. “I guess Robin and I are taking a trip to Arendelle.”


	3. Arendelle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Robin head to Arendelle to find Roland.

Robin carefully folded the last few things into her suitcase. She knew that Alice was lingering in the doorway, but hadn’t bothered to acknowledge her.

“You sure you don’t want me to come?”

“No, it’s best that it’s just Aunt Regina and me.”

“How are you feeling?”

“You mean outside finding out that my mother forced herself onto my father?”

“You know he still loved you.”

Robin didn’t look up from her suitcase. She heard Alice’s bare feet move across the floor and slip her hand through hers.

“He died saving your life. You don’t do that for someone you don’t love,” she whispered.

Robin swallowed, hard. “Even if he loved me…I was forced onto him.”

“I know what this is like, remember?”

Robin looked up at Alice, into the eyes that she so clearly got from Killian. Ever since she found out that Gothel was Alice’s biological mother, however, she couldn’t help but see bits of her in there. Whether it was the blonde hair or her nose. She even had inherited nymph magic from her. Killian had looked into that face every day and yet still loved her to pieces. She knew that he didn’t resent her. Even so, she’d never know if her father had been the same. She didn’t know w what to think of her mother.

It wasn’t as if Zelena had shielded her from her past, it was the one good piece of advice that the Queen had given her. She didn’t go into detail, but admitted to not always being a good person. Once upon a time, she had been the Wicked Witch, just as Regina had been the Evil Queen. Robin had respected them for their honesty and it was easy to put their misdeeds in the past, especially considering that none had been done to her.

Now, however, this particular thing hit close to him. If her mother had never done it, then she wouldn’t exist.

Robin shook it off. She couldn’t keep thinking about it at the moment. So, she did what she did best and repressed her emotions. Her phone buzzed and saw she had a text from her aunt. She was downstairs, waiting to go. It had taken Regina a couple of years to be able to unite all of the realms and in that time, there had been a monorail system put in place. It made it easy to go from one land to the next. Sure, you could drive, but while Storybrooke was at the front of the realms, Arendelle as near the back. It’d be easier for them to take the highway in the sky.

“That’s Aunt Regina. We’ll be back in a few days,” Robin told Alice gently kissing her. “Just in time for us to do our cake testing.”

“We can put the wedding on hold, if you want.”

“We’ve waited two years to do this, Al. I don’t want to put it off anymore. We’re getting married in three months, just like we planned.”

After a few more kisses, Robin walked out of the apartment and down to her aunt’s car. She threw her bag in the trunk before sliding in beside her.

“Ready?”

Regina nodded. “The express monorail for Arendelle leaves in a half hour, so we have some time.” She pulled away from the curb. “You haven’t spoken to your mom since the coronation, have you?”

Robin shook her head. “No.”

“I did tell her we were leaving.”

“Thanks for sharing my life with her.”

“Robin, no matter what, she’s your mom. I don’t blame you for being angry with her, but she needed to know. During the whole mess after the curse, Emma took Henry out of town without me knowing and I was furious.”

“Henry was a kid, I’m a grown woman.”

“Doesn’t change anything.”

“Whatever.” Robin folded her arms over her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your mother and I had an agreement.”

“To protect her?”

“No, to protect you.” They stopped at a red light and Regina turned to look at her. “We never wanted you to deal with the pain of knowing any of it. Archie did some research and told us that many parents that have children that were products of these situations choose not to tell them, and it’s better for them.”

“I was forced on my dad.”

Regina shook her head. “He didn’t look at you that way. He loved you so much, the minute he held you.”

“But his life would’ve been a whole lot easier if my mom hadn’t tricked him.”

“He told me that he wouldn’t have changed you for the world.”

“It doesn’t mean that what she did was okay.”

“Of course it’s not.”

“How did you ever forgive her?”

There was a beat of silence in the car, the only sound coming from the radio. Regina may have left a lot of Roni behind, but her music taste had remained. The Ramones filled the time while Regina pondered the question.

“It took a while,” Regina admitted. “For a long time, I blamed her for everything. It took a few years, even after we were on better terms.”

“If you felt that way, why did you let us live with you?”

“So I could help with you, make sure you were okay. I love you, Robin. More than you know.”

Robin felt herself soften at her aunt’s words. “Is it true? That you and my father were in love?”

Regina nodded. “We were soulmates, destined to be together. When I was married to the king, Tinkerbell used pixie dust to show me that. I got scared and ran, but during my time away from Henry, I met your father and we fell in love. He was the first person since Daniel that I seriously saw myself romantically spending forever with.”

Robin saw the look in her aunt’s eyes. She had seen it as a little girl, but could never place it. Now she knew it was love. Her aunt had lost her soulmate and had to hide it for so long. How could she not have seen that?

“You never told me this.”

“When your mother and I were deciding what to tell you about your father, we decided it’d just be too complicated. How would it look to see that your father slept with his girlfriend’s sister?”

“But to keep it a secret for all this time…that had to have been hard.”

“It was,” Regina admitted, her voice soft. “There were so many times when you started dating Alice that I wished I could tell you. You’d both do these little things and it’d remind me of what your father did for me. The look you had for each other in your eyes, I knew that you two would end up married someday, even before your mom said you were in love.”

Robin nodded, smiling a little. “You were always a second mom to me growing up, but you would’ve been more than that if my father had lived.”

“Your mom would’ve always been in your life, but I would always be there.”

“How could my dad let her be around me?”

“Because he knew that people made mistakes. He didn’t forgive her, but he wanted you to have a mom. Roland lost his, he couldn’t let two kids go through that.”

“You never brought me to see him, either of you.”

Regina winced. “I know. Zelena had promised we would, but life got busy and…well, there’s really no excuse.”

“I always wanted to meet him. I asked all the time, but you two always said it wasn’t the right moment.”

“We made a lot of mistakes when it came to Roland,” Regina said, pulling into the parking lot of the monorail station. “I made a lot of mistakes. He was my responsibility after your father left and I should’ve fought for him.”

“Yeah. You really should’ve.”

Regina put the car into park and removed the keys from the ignition, before looking over at Robin.

“Well, that’s what I’m doing now. I just hope it’s not too late.”

* * *

The express monorail got them to Arendelle in half the time of the regular. Once they arrived, they went to Queen Elsa’s castle. She hugged them both tight, offered them a place to stay during their visit before handing over the directory so they could look to find Roland. Once they located his address, it was decided that Robin would go see him first.

Leaving her aunt to catch up with Elsa and Anna, she headed into the village. Roland’s cottage was near the middle of it. Unlike the other houses, there were no gardens and the grass clearly wasn’t maintained. The home needed a few repairs, but other than that, it was charming with itself, built of stone with large windows. There was a stream that ran behind it. From the candle lit in the window, Robin could tell that her brother was home. She went up the broken stone pathway and knocked on the door. Roland opened it a few moments later. He didn’t smell of booze like he had before and was dressed a bit nicer. His eyes were softer and it almost looked like he was smiling.

“You look so much like him,” Roland whispered.

“Really?”

He nodded. “You have his eyes.”

“Aunt Regina always says that.”

Roland cautiously looked behind her. “Is she with you?”

“Not at the moment, but she is in Arendelle. The other half of her told us you were here.”

Roland sighed. “Should’ve figured that would happen.”

“Look, I’m not here to justify what my aunt or mother did. It’s up to them to try to make that right with you, if they even can. But I wasn’t a part of any of it, I had as little say as you. Probably even less. And to be fair, you never came looking for me when you could. You could’ve attempted to have a relationship with me when you were older. I didn’t know where you were, but you knew where I was.”

Roland frowned, his eyebrows knitting together for a moment. Eventually, he stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. The place was pretty bare bones, even for a villager’s standards. There was a small kitchen area, with a table that contained one chair. In the attached den was a tiny couch. She spotted an open bedroom door, which only had a bed and a wardrobe.

“Not a lot of stuff.”

“I grew up with the Merry Men, I don’t require a lot. Have a seat.”

Robin did as she was told and watched as he put on a kettle. Once the tea was ready, he brought it over along with the chair from the table. They sat across from one another, sipping their tea and staring at one another.

“I thought about you, a lot,” Roland admitted. “I wondered if you knew about me.”

“Always. Aunt Regina and Mom told me I had a big brother, that he lived with our dad’s friends. They told me all about you, what they knew anyway.”

“Zelena promised she’d bring you to visit, but it never happened.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’d ask, but there was always an excuse.”

“It’s not your fault.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Honestly, by the time I was old enough to go looking for you, I was just so angry. I considered going to Storybrooke and yelling at everyone who forgot me. Then I realized that it would hurt too much to see them. As much as I wanted to see you, see how you grew up…I just couldn’t. Maybe that’s selfish…”

“No, I get it.” She took another sip of her tea. “For what it’s worth, I had a good childhood. Mom and I lived with Aunt Regina. They raised me together for the most part. When I was about 15, Aunt Regina moved to the Wish Realm to help Henry out.”

“I saw him at the coronation. How is he?”

“Good. Married, with a kid. Total fairytale life, reminds me a lot of Snow White and David.”

“They were always so nice to me,” Roland murmured. “I shouldn’t have snapped at them.”

“They’re fine. Snow is worried about you, but she’ll be fine.”

“Zelena…what kind of Mom…I mean…”

Robin knew she had to be careful with what she said. She was angry with her mom, but at the end of the day, she had a normal upbringing (or as normal as one could be in Storybrooke). Yet, she also knew the only side of Zelena that Roland had seen.

“She was good. A bit too lenient, while also getting frustrated when I’d misbehave. She had a rough childhood and I think she didn’t learn the balance between being loving but firm. She didn’t hurt me or abuse me ever.”

Roland nodded. “That’s good. I’m sorry I told you about how you were conceived. I thought you’d know.”

Robin shook her head. “They always told me that our dad and her had been together once, that was it. Up until the coronation, I didn’t even know that Aunt Regina and Dad had dated.”

Roland scoffed. “Is that really how little she meant to him?”

“It wasn’t like that, Roland. When she talked about him, I saw this look in her eyes that I could never place until now. She loved him, so much. It killed her to never tell me, they just thought it’d be weird to explain.”

“The whole thing is weird. To be honest, I don’t think they realized I knew. Zelena pretended to be my mom and after, they tried to wipe my memory of that time, but it didn’t work. All I knew was that my mom had disappeared again. Then when I went back with the Merry Men, I overheard Little John and a few of the others discussing it.’

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“What was your life like? Growing up with them?”

Robin had always wondered about her father’s friends. Regina spoke so kindly of them and Henry would show her stories from his book. She hadn’t just wanted to go to Sherwood Forest to meet her brother, but to get to know them as well. They had been such an important part in his life.

“They were kind to me,” Roland said. “I lived with Little John mostly after we went back to Sherwood. We settled down, he built a cottage so I could have four walls around me rather than a tent. They all helped raise me, but it wasn’t the same as having parents. Sure, they’d tell me when to go to bed and taught me things but it was like they knew. The two people I wanted to be my mom and dad were gone.”

Robin frowned. “I don’t understand why we got split up. I’m not even sure if Aunt Regina even really knows herself.”

“She made her choice. I waited for her to come back for a really long time, but after the Queen came to see me and admitted that even she hadn’t heard from her in a while, I knew.”

“I don’t blame you for being angry with her, but that doesn’t have to affect us, does it? We spent all this time apart, I want to have you in my life. It’s a lot easier with the new realm system, you know?”

“I do, and I want that too. You can visit me here anytime.”

“And you can come to Storybrooke. I don’t live with Aunt Regina or mom, I have an apartment with my fiancé.”

“Fiancé?’

Robin pulled her phone from her pocket and showed him her lock screen, a picture of her and Alice on their anniversary. He smiled, cupping the phone in his grip.

“Her name’s Alice,” she explained. “We’ve been together for a while now.”

“She’s beautiful.” Roland passed the phone back. “Who proposed to whom?”

“I did her, two years ago. We get married in a few months and well…I know we barely know each other. It’s just, Alice will have her dad to give her away. I won’t have dad and even before I knew all this, I didn’t want it to be my mom or Regina. It’d mean a lot to me if, even if you don’t want to walk me down, that you were there.”

Roland reached over, putting a hand on her knee. “I’ve missed a lot of your life, I’m not about to miss the biggest day.”

“Even if my mom and Regina will be there?”

“Even then.”


End file.
